The entire tournament is available to be viewed on NJPWWorld.com. Mostly japanese commentary with several different viewing options in terms of camera angles. The final 3 days of the tournament will have english commentary done by ROH's Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.

We here at Wrestling Inc will be providing coverage of The G1 tournament. There wil be G1 results along with the updated standings.

The Grade 1 tournament held every year with a varying number of wrestlers competing to be the best. This year. It's 20 wrestlers. Traditionally, This tournament is for wrestlers classified as being in the heavyweight division. Essentially, This tournament is to determine who is the best wrestler in the company. Along with the great honor, is the potential opportunity to headline the largest yearly show and become world champion.

This is the 26th G1 tournament which was started in 1991 and it has featured many of the all time greats in Japan as well some in the United States like Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, AJ Styles, Finn Balor etc.... Masahiro Chino labeled as "Mr. August" has won the most G1 tournaments on five different occasions.

There are two separate blocks in the tournament. Labeled The A Block and The B Block. Each wrestler is put into a block and must wrestle everyone in that block. The two wrestlers with the most points in their respective blocks will face off in the finals to determine the winner of the tournament.

The point system is fairly simple. A win gets you 2 points. A draw is 1 point. A loss nets you zero points. If two wrestlers have the same record after all block matches are complete. The tie breaker is head to head wins. So for example if Okada and Tanahashi, who are both in Block A have the same record at 6 and 3 after facing everyone in their block. The winner of that block will be determined by whichever wrestler won in their head to head meeting.

The winner of the G1 tournament gets a shot at The IWGP World Heavyweight Title at New Japan's biggest show of the year, WrestleKingdom on January 4th 2017 at The Tokyo Dome. The catch here is that The IWGP world champ also competes in the tournament. If he wins the entire tournament. He establishes that he is truly the best but even a few losses in the tournament set up potential world title matches down the line with the wrestlers he has lost to. The G1 in the past has been won by The world champ. Both The Great Muta and Kensuke Sasaki have accomplished this feat.

If the winner of the G1 Climax tournament is not the world champion. He receives a briefcase and it is usually defended once or twice on the road to The January 4th Tokyo Dome show.

The tournament stretches out over nearly a month on 19 different events. Each individual card has 5 or 6 matches featuring A and B Block matches. On the individual cards, There are customary multi-man matches that help fill out the card. The spacing over this time period helps wrestlers in the tournament have time to recover. It can be a very grueling tournament and injuries can play a factor.

New Japan Pro Wrestling has undergone quite a bit of changes in the last year. Many premiere stars are no longer a part of the company. Names like AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Kota Ibushi. The promotion is in a transitional period and the G1 historically has made new stars and set the future for the promotion for years to come.

Let's take a look at this year's 20 participants.

THE A BLOCK

Kazuchika Okada- The current IWGP champion, Perhaps the most brash and confident wrestler in New Japan's long history. He is always out to prove that he is the greatest and relishes in the opportunity to prove it. Labeled as the future "ace" of new japan pro wrestling. Okada already sees himself as the greatest ace in the history of the business.

Hiroshi Tanahashi- Former multi time world champ and G1 winner last year defeating Shinsuke Nakamura in the final. Tanahashi is considered to be the ace of NJPW. This generations biggest and most respected star. A true warrior who has been battling a serious shoulder injury but has refused to take time off and heal. His injury puts his chances of winning this long tournament in jeopardy.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan- The long time veteran of NJPW. His partner Satoshi Kojima gave him this spot in the tournament as a tribute to Tenzan. Hiroyoshi says that this is his last shot in the G1 tournament. Coming towards the end of his career, Tenzan is a sentimental favorite to defy the odds.

Tama Tonga- The adopted son of legendary wrestler, Haku. Representing the Bullet Club and coming from the Samoan Dynasty. Primarily a tag team wrestler in NJPW. Tonga is looking to establish his legacy as a singles wrestler in his 1st ever G1 tournament.

Bad Luck Fale- Physically imposing power style wrestler representing the Bullet Club. It is this style of wrestler that normally has the most impact in this type of tournament. Even if he doesn't win. Wrestlers like Fale do the most damage during their matches and weaken opponents for future matches. Often injuring wrestlers in their respective block. It's the kind of match that most competitors in G1 prefer to get over with as soon as possible.

Togi Makabe- Known as the "Unchained Gorilla". Makabe's style and character is heavily influenced by his inspiration, The late great Bruiser Brody. Another strong style wrestler that opponents would like to avoid. His stiff and violent style is very taxing on opposing wrestlers and Makabe is known as being as tough as they come.

Hirooki Goto- A veteran wrestler who has gone through several different transformations in his career. Initially starting out as a junior heavyweight. Now listed as a heavyweight. Respected for his wrestling background and toughness. He has changed up his style quite a bit since he started. He has gone through several character transformations. Currently painting himself white in script. He is a part of a group called Chaos led by Okada who ironically is in the same block as him. Always in the mix but never breaking through the glass ceiling. That's been the theme of Goto's career.

Tomohiro Ishii- Known as The Stone Pitbull. The 40 year old Ishii has a cult like following with the fan base. One of the best and toughest in ring workers in the wrestling business. Kind of a late bloomer who has earned respect over time.

SANADA- Also known as The Great Sanada. Trained by The Great Muta among others. The 28 year old is well traveled and is a former TNA X Division Champion. Part of the L.I.J. stable in New Japan. After being a journeyman for most of his career. The spotlight has never shined brighter on Sanada and this is his biggest opportunity to stand out.

Naomichi Marufuji- Representing the japanese promotion, NOAH. Considered a long shot in this tournament despite being the only man to win the junior heavyweight title in all three major japanese promotions. The 36 year old Marufuji wrestles with a chip on his shoulder. Always out to prove himself. No better way than to do it in the G1 tournament.

THE B BLOCK

Tetsuya Naito - The former IWGP champion is coming off losing his title to Kazuchika Okada last month. Naito is the leader of "Los Ingobernables".. The Japanese version of a stable created in Mexico's CMLL promotion. "Los Ingobernables"... translates to The Ungovernables. Basically a rebellious group of villains that can't be controlled. Naito has broken through in the past year to become a headliner and this tournament is a way to stay at the top for him. Reclaim his glory.

Katsuyori Shibata- The time is now for this mega talented wrestler. This G1 tournament was made for guys like this to break out and become major stars. Shibata has all the tools. Wrestling skills combined with an MMA background. One of the best strikers in all of Japan.

EVIL- Formerly known as Takaaki Watanabe. Member of Los Ingobernables. He is in the same bracket with L.I.J leader Naito and they will cross paths in this block. Interesting subplot to this tournament.

Kenny Omega- The "Cleaner" who has now moved into the heavyweight division. He has taken the mantle of being the leader of The Bullet Club. Huge shoes to fill with the departure of AJ Styles and Prince Devitt aka Finn Balor. The two former Bullet Club leaders. A lot of pressure on a guy who acts like he doesn't feel pressure.

Michael Elgin- The former ROH world champion and current IWGP Intercontinental Champion has made quite a name for himself in New Japan over the last year. He has transformed his career and bettered his reputation worldwide. After debuting in last year's G1, Elgin to looks to build upon his momentum and make a bigger impact this year.

Yuji Nagata- The man of many rebirths. The two time IWGP champion has been left for dead and forgotten in the past only to re-emerge and defy the critics this late in his long career. The 48 year old veteran shoot style wrestler is looking to defy his critics yet again and is a crowd favorite.

Tomoaki Honma- The true definition of an underdog. One of the most popular wrestlers in all of Japan. Colorful and very likeable guy. He plays the loveable loser well and as good as anyone. He barely wins but you would never notice based on his demeanor and attitude.

Toru Yano- From a well liked try hard wrestler to a true charismatic yet despicable heel. Never one to shy away from the cheap victory. Yano is comic relief in japanese wrestling. He will ocassionally pull off the surprising upset and is a true spolier in these types of tournaments. He won't win the whole thing but he will ruin someone's elses chances of doing so.

Yoshi-Hashi- Another underdog type trying to break out as a singles wrestler. Constantly facing an uphill battle in his matches but often times gaining crowd support in the process with his fun style of wrestling.

Katsuhiko Nakajima- The pro wrestling NOAH representative in this B Block. Nakajima is known for his striking ability of fast kicks and strikes. The 28 year old has had success in several other japanese promotions and is looking to stand out in this G1 tournament.